Ylijumalat
The stoic Ylijumalat (Ylijumala sing.) were a sentient bipedal species native the planet of Linnunrata, located in the Unknown Regions, more specifically in a far away satellite dwarf galaxy. They were a highly mysterious race that was secretive and isolationistic, generally distrusting any other species. They were strong promoters of justice and order which was enforced through a police state type government. They were most notably known for their mass accelerator technology that was often considered superior to even Verpine shatter guns. The most notable member of their kind was Nyyrikki Tuoni who only just recently revealed the name of Ylijumalat as a species. Characteristics At first glance appearing to be athletic and attractive humans with high and wide cheekbones to “outlanders”, the Ylijumalat were a long-lived species, reportedly capable of healthily living over two hundred standard years due to advanced medicine and genetics eliminating most disease and ailments. Boasting a high level of hearing and sight particularly in night vision like a feline and resistance to the cold, they were excellent hunters, trackers, and soldiers. They were easily distinguishable from Humans by their eyes that were similar in appearance to a cat as well as slightly pointed ears and longer canine teeth than Humans. It was often speculated that this was a result of the Ylijumalat being primarily nocturnal and the northern hemisphere being primarily temperate and taiga/boreal with winter six out of the twelve standard months, so much of the year was darker than usual. The environment was believed to be linked also to the reason for the cold resistance of the Ylijumalat as well due to most of the planet having numerous mountain ranges where most of the Ylijumalat population lived, and that the planet and the Ylijumalat's current condition was believed to be strongly linked to the 1,000 year long nuclear winter that took place on their homeplanet after a devastating war. The resistance against the cold was a result of thicker blood. Another characteristic was most Ylijumalat shared at some point in their youth often got tattoos running down the outside of their shoulder, arms, or back. When a Force Sensitive Ylijumalat used a highly powerful Force ability, the tattoos had a tendency to glow. A serious draw back to the Ylijumalat was that because they had such greater physical characteristics than humans in terms of life span, they had a low birth rate compared to Humans. Children were often born as an only child. It was unknown if Yiljumalat could interbreed with other species, although Nyyrikki Tuoni had hinted that they were capable of having relations with some humanoid species other than Humans and Near-Humans. The offspring he said would be primarily have the characteristics of the non-Ylijumala, with the only characteristics from the Ylijumala being the feline eyes and feline level hearing and sight, longevity, and cold resistance. However, a half blooded Ylijumala generally only occurred maybe once every few hundred years due to the Ylijuamalat's distaste for foreigners. They were a calm and collected species, rarely acting rashly, instead choosing to analyze a situation before acting. They tended to be reserved and quiet, choosing not to speak unless they felt there was something important to say. They tended to especially act as loners when not among their own people, and they were often known to be impatient with sociable species and persons. Being reserved and commonly in control of their emotions caused most other species viewed them as being apathetic, lacking compassion, and cold. History The past of the Ylijumalat is mostly shrouded in mystery for those of the Known Galaxy for those who even know they exist. Their history is mostly their conflicts with synthetics who once belonged to their species but came to worship Mnggal-Mnggal as a something of a god. Before the existence of the conflict between the synthetics, there is very small pieces of evidence that the Ylijumalat were descended either directly or indirectly from the ancient Celestial species. Small hints to these origins include the name of their species and language in ancient documents in which Ylijumalat literally meant "overgods" and their language literally meant "Celestial". The Great War and 1,000 Years of Darkness Thousands of years ago, the Ylijumalat democracy riddled with immorality, corruption, and laziness prided itself on some of the most advanced technology ever made in the Galaxy as a result of they believe to be due in part to they may have been direct or indirect descendants of the ancient Celestial species. With the desire to conquer nearby planets to reclaim their rumored ancient glory, a radical sect of Ylijumalat began to push to begin using advanced cybernetics and robotics technology to give the needed edge to reconquer lost territories. Although the idea was opposed by a respectable portion of the population who felt that they should stablize the homeworld first, the radical sect gained more and more support due to them promising the use of the technology would bring back the prosperity and power they had once held. The greedy, poor, and power hungry flocked to the charismatic message, and eventually the sect gained control of the government to begin pouring resources into robotics technology to produce sophisticated droids with powerful V.I. capabilities. Tensions between the radical sect and the rest of the Ylijumalat species continued to rise when the sect deemed that simple droids with V.I. capabilities were insufficient, and they began to experiment with actually transfering consciousnesses into the droids to create what they referred to as "true A.I.". This was not to be confused with the Ssi-ruu method of entechment which transferred the life essence rather than the person's consciousness. Over the course of several hundred years, the sect and their followers who had been almost or utterly completely replaced with cybernetics and robotics became simply known as the "Synthetics" and became nearly a quarter of the total Ylijumalat population. Little did the general population know that the radical group's leaders were slowly indoctrinating the followers into worshiping the being called Mnggal-Mnggal, a highly powerful entity who infected the bodies of its victims to control their bodies utterly to the point that the victims became little more than husks. The synthetics believed that Mnggal-Mnggal outliving the Celestials as well as easily overcoming several organic civilizations was evidence that the synthetics were destined to be superior to organics, and they worshipped the being as something of god. Although the synthetic nature prevented complete control by Mnggal, the being was still able to wield a great deal of influence in hopes that the synthetics would weaken the resistance of the Ylijumalat enough to take over the planet. A violent civil war finally broke out when it came to light that the legendary Mnggal-Mnggal was the one controlling the synthetics. The nightmares of the rest of the pure Ylijumalat had become a reality, and they led a large scale revolution against the synthetics and their Mnggal-Mnggal controller. The revolution ended in a final and catastrophic war, which the greatly divided Ylijumalat were unprepared for that resulted with the detonation of numerous nuclear type missiles, causing the destruction of billions of Ylijumalat as well as a nuclear winter lasting nearly one thousand years. Even with the detonation of the missiles, the synthetics still were not defeated. During the nuclear winter, the synthetics fled the planet using the worn starships left from when the Ylijumalat were attempting to conquer territory to escape the EMP radiation caused by the missiles that would interfere with their operating systems and civilization was nearly nonexistent with only small settlements dotting the landscape, but the majority were underground to escape the radiation inside ancient underground shelters that had been hastly designed. Unfortunately the radiation that consumed the planet still seeped into the underground caverns, and what little Ylijumalat technology was left was not sophisticated enough to cleanse water and food, so the they were exposed to radiation none the less. Many died from illness, but a small portion survived. Under One Banner As the long nuclear winter began to come to a close, the synthetics were still a threat to the Ylijumalat. The synthetics were now emerging from stasis after having been for a long time watching over the planet of Linnunrata in restless expectation of the nuclear winter ending so that they could "process" all the Ylijumalat remaining both on the surface and below and kill any who refused to submit. At first the Ylijumalat were nearly overwhelmed due to the sheer power of the synthetics due to them being much more organized than the Ylijumalat as well as having control over the vast majority of the starships, but then a savior emerged. This savior was named Ukko, a Force Adept who rallied the Ylijumalat to unite under one flag and drive out the "sinners against Life itself". He brought all the Force Users of the species together to form an elite special forces group that led the rest of the species as leaders and gave them an edge against the Mnggal-Mnggal controlled synthetics. In addition to the Force Users, they used guerrilla warfare to slowly reclaim their planet until the synthetics threatened to bombard the planet with the starships unless the Ylijumalat submit. The Ylijumalat responded swiftly though as they had always known that they would never be free with a fleet orbiting overhead, so as soon as the conflict had started they had been pouring every last amount of their resources not needed to keep their troops going into mass driver cannons to strike at the orbiting fleet above. During a coordinated volley, they struck back to decimate the orbiting ships and Ukko with the Force Users of the planet concentrated to direct a technique against Mnggal-Mnggal to drive its presence away when the synthetics were driven back. The attempt was a success despite numerous fatalities in which many Force Users were actually infected by Mnggal-Mnggal while attempting to drive its presence off the planet. The sythnetics and their master would not return to the Ylijumalat homeplanet for several thousand years. Building a Utopia Although the synthetics had been driven back off the planet, Linnunrata and the Ylijumalat as a species had been left scarred and changed by the radiation and wars. Almost all traces of the civilization that the Ylijumalat had once had were sparse and limited. Although the species had been united during the war to reclaim the planet, many wanted to simply take territory and install their own small governments. Ukko disagreed with such notions and reminded the species as a whole that in order to survive another war with the synthetics when they returned, they would need to restore at least global unity and control of Linnunrata. Liberally free democracy has proven that it was a poor choice of government prone to corruption and immorality as well as being unsuitable for wartime. Ukko suggested a republic with a police state structure that placed justice, order, and stability as the driving factors of the society. TO BE CONTINUED Culture Forever driven to represent and preserve the greatest qualities of sentients in the face of the evil entity, Mnggal-Mnggal and its synthetic followers, the nationalistic Ylijumalat were strict supporters of duty, justice, law, and order, and they were considered to have a highly stable planet of almost utopian quality in which crime and immorality were quickly punished and at the very least highly discouraged. They also had an appreciation for promoting love, literature, dance, music, beauty, and art. Almost all aspects of Ylijumalat culture were completely free of Known Galaxy influence due to being isolationist with the hopes of remaining a bastion of hope from the horrors of the Galaxy. Due to the military, justice, and discipline being a large aspect of society as well as Ylijuamalat being relatively reserved and quiet, small talk was seen as being frowned upon, silence was seen merely as a form of communication, and hugging, shaking of hands, and other forms of physical contact were rarely performed except in the presence of close friends and family. Family and Home Life Since the day they are born, Ylijumalat children were taught the values of justice and love and duty towards one's family and nation. Duty was central to the lives of the Ylijumalat, including their families, friends, and society. As a result they have a strong sense of responsibility and took whatever task presented before them with enthusiam and determination to do the task to perfection in an efficient manner which made for a high standard work ethic in the society. Elders were expected to be treated with respect, but elders were also expected not to abuse their positions they may have. Because children were often born as an only child, the nuclear family structure had a very strong hold on Ylijumalat culture, although the society still shared with each other a very strong bond, and having more than one child was considered a great honor and responsibility. Family grudges were very rare and discouraged, and respectful gestures were often expected if greeting an elder or person of high office or reputation. The most common gesture was placing the one's right fist over the heart while inclining the head or bowing. Persons of high office or reputation from generals to doctors often were bestowed a ceremonial yet fully functional traditionally forged electro-vibro puukko depending on the importance and responsibilities of the position, which they were expected to wear when attending important ceremonies or events. Almost all homes in the Nouthern Hemisphere of Linnunrata had a sauna while others also sometimes had private hotsprings due to them being plentiful. Some customs regarding the home included taking off one's footwear before entering the home as well as bringing a gift such as an entree or flowers. Hunting was the most popular sport for the Ylijumalat mostly due to their militaristic culture, although restrictions were often enacted to prevented drastic decreases in wildlife populations. As a result of hunting enjoying popularity, a vast majority of Ylijumalat homes contained at least one form of gun, and the almost every Ylijumalat once reaching a certain age carried a puukko knife as part of their wardrobe. Despite not being considered a sport by most of the species, martial arts enjoyed more popularity than even hunting due to almost the entire male population at one point being part of the military. Sexuality Males and females were equals in the eyes of Ylijumalat law, both in rights and economically. Young females in Ylijumalat society were highly valued due to the low rate of birth seen in the species as well as due to the traditional view that a person should not try to suppress one's beauty. Women expected to be treated with respect, but not to the point of being treated chauvinistically, and women were likewise expected to not take advantage of those showing courtesy. For example, when departing for an extended period of time, a male was expected to kiss the cheek of the females in the room if they were kin or close friends. However, it was frowned upon to kiss the female if she was in a relationship with someone or the female was known to disapprove of the custom, although such disapproval was usually only seen in outlanders. Sexuality was seen as a natural aspect of life, and so the practice of having relations even before marriage was seen as natural and even healthy. This attitude was approached with caution and a respectful manner though, and "sleeping around" or refusing to take responsibility in the event of pregnancy was highly frowned upon by society, given the value of children. Spirituality The majority of the Ylijumalat were agnostics, maintaining that although there was no clear evidence of a divine being or beings, but at the same time there was no evidence to disprove the existence of a divine being, especially since the Universe had to have come from somewhere. Death was seen as a natural aspect of life, but the Ylijumalat firmly believed in an afterlife due to phenomena such as Force ghosts. The name of their underworld was Tuonela, home of the dead and the Sampo, a forge of ancient power made by Ukko with the Force, and it is believed that it is more than coincidence that the most powerful military family as well as producer of Force sensitives is named Tuoni. It is a widely held belief that an ancestor of the Tuoni family was the most powerful Samaanit to ever live, supposedly capable of summoning the spirits of the Dead to being able to create lightning storms powerful enough to destroy entire fleets of ships. The primary holiday for the Ylijumalat was the Summer Solstice (Juhannus) and Rememberance Day which involved celebrating the first day of summer and Ukko, the Force User saint. These holidays were celebrated with large feasts, dancing, and music festivals, consisting mostly of swing music as well as some instrumental, hard rock, and metal through out the Realm. The Samaanit The Ylijumalat's spiritual life was led by the Force Adept group known as the Samaanit (literally meaning shamans), who resided within a temple fortress called Kyöpelinvuori. First started by the legendary being known as Ukko Ilmarinen, who was the first to unite the entire planet of Linnunrata under one banner and said to be an incarnation of Jumala Himself, they held a large amount of indirect political power due to their strong connection to the Force, often acting as advisers to the Ylijumalat government and military. They were often seen as the secret police of the Kuningas and considered independent of the government, resulting in them answering only to the Kuningas although they often collaborated closely with the military and government. The Samaanit were overseen by a council of Salviat(sages) who made the primary decisions of the order and gave assignments. Their primary doctrine centered around the pursuit of justice and order, which were key to Ylijumalat society. They believed that once justice and order had been instilled into society and into the individual, prosperity, peace, etc would follow in turn. Despite acknowledging the existance of the Light and Dark Sides of the Force, the Samaanit believed that justice took priority over serving a certain Side. They believed that it was justice that should be focused on rather than following the tenets of a Side of the Force. As a result to the Light Side observer they would appear dangerously close to the Dark Side whereas a Dark Sider might feel they were too close to the Light Side. They notably believed that the use of emotions when using the Force clouded the judgment and thinking of a person and therefore were unreliable. In their opinion cold and calculating use of the Force could yield just as potent or even more potent results which put their teachings at odds with those of the Sith or Dark Jedi as well as the Jedi who the Samaanit felt were far too pacifistic to truly serve Justice. Samaanit were expected to be not just powerful spiritually in the Force, but also as warriors by studying fighting styles such as Päätös which involved channeling lightning in the hands and feet to create powerful and devastating strikes. As primarily practitioners of samanismi (shamanism,) they displayed a honed talent in being attuned to nature and particularly Life and Death due to knowing the ability to speak to and summon spirits of the Dead through the Force and even walk through the Netherworld in the form of a "Force Ghost" due to being primarily shamans in practice. Their shaman roots granted them a natural skill in Sense and foretelling the distant or immediate future similar to Farsight and Precognition respectively. Their connection to nature spurred some Samaanit to manipulate their surroundings similar to Alter Environment. Tapio Tuoni in particular was well known to be highly skilled in the manipulation of water and capable of forming power jets of water or even large waves with minimal effort. The following are examples of specific abilities: 'Kuolema-Kävely' The technique famously known as "walking" in Death in which the user traveled through Death via their spirit and indirectly their physical body, this ability was considered extremely dangerous because if a Samaani went to deep into Death, their spirit could be trapped permanently. Those who were talented enough and entrusted with the using the technique were easily identified by their graying or white hair and paleness even if they were and looked young as a side effect of travelling in Death. 'Karsikko' An ability designed specifically to deal with spirits, its basic purpose was to return spirits into Death and into the Netherworld. In more dangerous situations, the ability could be used in a much more aggressive manner to banish the spirit. It was said to be particularly potent against spirits of the Dark Side or beings inflicted by Mngall-Mngall. 'Luonto' An ability that summoned a spirit from Death for various tasks depending on the spirit, but mostly for benevolent reasons. A Samaani could summon a good spirit to lend him or her aid in healing a friend or to ask for wisdom. A Samaani had to be careful not to accidentally summon or attract a Dark Side spirit. 'Henki' The Samaanit version of Force Healing that literally translates as "life", "spirit", or "stamina". Healing was central to the life of a Samaani, and sometimes the ability could be further enhanced by summoning a benevolent spirit to lend the Samaani aid in healing someone. Therefore, those who trained in this ability often also closely studied Luonto for summoning benevolent spirits. 'Etiäinen' An ability that involves a Samaanit sensing an event before it happens, usually with very short notice. It was the Samaani equivalent of a Jedi or Sith's Precognition. Indirectly related to their connection with nature and the honed senses gained from it, the Samaanit were known for their highly specialized techniques used to aid in the forging and making of weapons such as blades and armor. Often these techniques took the form of "runes" that the Samaanit "forged" into the weapon or armor. The runes were said to aid in focusing to have the Force impart a specific trait upon the object whether it be resistant and deflection of energy such as that from lightsabers and blasters or an unnaturally long lasting to equally unnaturally sharp edge. The results were said to rival the potency of Sith Alchemy and runes and Force Weapon. They employed other techniques in the Force dedicated to stealth and martial arts as well due to their Ylijumalat hunter nature. The Samaanit specialized in the use of multiple forms of weapons and armor technology rather than shunning them like most Jedi and Sith, developing weapons such as their version of the plasmasword as well as using weapons such as gamma ray firearms. Samaanit were capable of living centuries longer than their non-Force Using counterparts while remaining youthful in appearance save for graying hair and paling complexions. Due to Force Users in the Galaxy having a past for often being the center of causing major Galaxy-wide wars, the Samaanit were closely watched by the military and government despite being considered independent. The Samaanit commonly worked closely with a "brother" group known as the Metsästäjät (hunters), who were especially trained to hunt Force Users and acted to not only hunt Non-Ylijumalat Force Users who posed a threat but also as an internal affairs sect of the Samaanit. Unlike the Samaanit that was exclusively for Force Users, the Metsästäjät also had Non Force Using member who utilized an array of advanced technology and cybernetic and genetic upgrades like the Jedi Killers of the Known Galaxy. The Samaanit have largely accepted the vigilance of the group because they feel they are duty bound as Ylijumalat to have the public protected from rogue Force Users, but recently some dissenters have voiced concerns that the Samaanit are nothing more than "slave soldiers" of the Ylijumalat despite being Ylijumalat as well. Tattoos One of the most important traditions in Ylijumalat and Samaanit culture is that of tattoo markings. Around the age of twenty when a Ylijumalat was considered a legal adult, it was common practice for the man or woman to have tattoos placed on either their shoulders, back, arms, or a combination of the three if they belonged to the Samaanit or were a Force User as a mark of honor. These tattoos often were of the family's coat of arms or motto, but if the person belonged to the military or the Samaanit, they would have the motto or coat of arms of those respective organizations tattooed instead or mixed with their family's coat of arms or motto. The most common colors were black, blue, and green. These tattoos were unique from any other tattoo or marking in the Galaxy in that they were actually made through the Force either by the actual person or a respected superior. When a Samaanit used abilities associated with Death, the tattoos had a tendency to glow. The connection is currently unknown. "Outlander" Relations ::: "Humanity is a menace...a walking pestilence!" The Ylijumalat were strictly isolationists, preferring to keep their homeworld cut off from the “Known” Galaxy, although they did allow very small scale expeditions usually no larger than a frigate to enter the Known Galaxy with the understanding they were not to be followed. Non-Ylijumalat were referred to as “outlanders” and treated with relative coldness and distrust, mainly due to fear that the constant conflict that infested the Known Galaxy would reach their homeworld and colonies located in one of the distant satellite dwarf galaxies that kept them effectively isolated. Their feline ancestory (as felines are known for being loners towards anyone not their own) may also have been linked to their distrust and unwillingness to accept any outside contact. The only sentient species not to be referred to as being outlanders were the Kissaeläimet, a small feline species that were native to Linnunrata and were often companions to the Ylijumalat. The Ylijumalat were known for being particularly cold towards Humans due to the Ylijumalat viewing Humanity as reproducing too quickly, their tendency to be the center of every major war in the Galaxy and for their long history of oppressing other species. The only species that the Ylijumalat tended to interact without hostility towards was the Chiss due to the two species sharing some strong similarities in culture, particularly the military and their isolationist policies. The fact that the Ylijumalat knew where the Chiss homeworld while the Chiss did not likewise know where the Ylijumalat were located helped to keep the Chiss in check from prying into Ylijumalat affairs. It was possible to be adopted into their society after a ritual was performed by their shamans, but adoption was extremely rare, and only granted to a select few deemed worthy. The ritual to accept a non-Ylijumalat into their society involved tattooing the potential adopted with the name of his or her family's name or motto if they were a Force User. If a Ylijumala tried to have a romantic relationship with an outlander without having him or her adopted into the society, the end result would be the Ylijumala being exiled or possibly executed along with the non-Ylijumalat lover. The only known friendships between a Ylijumala and outlanders were those between Nyyrikki Tuoni and a small handful of people, and the only known romances involved Nyyrikki Tuoni with several women and Tapio Tuoni with Walja Clibos' mother. Government The Linnunrata Valtakunta (LV) was the main government of the planet Linnunrata with the capital, Pohjola, in the Northern Hemisphere. The Realm was predominately a police state that emphasized absolute order and justice. Although laws were strictly enforced, justice was considered a higher priority. This prevented and discouraged criminals from attempting to find loopholes in laws. However, officials and law enforcement rarely abused this higher level of freedom in enforcing the law due to the strong moral values like duty being highly present on every level of Ylijumalat society from family life to business to government which made Ylijumalat controlled planets among the least corrupt on the Galaxy. Any form of corruption was harshly and swiftly punished, often because corruption was treated as treasonous in nature. The Linnunrata Valtakunta in all had ten "garden-class" colony systems (meaning they were comfortably inhabitable by Ylijumalat or most humanoids) as well as controlling several hundred "resource" systems, but the population total for the entire Realm was only about 8 billion, with Linnunrata having the largest population of 3 billion with the other 5 billion amongst the colony and resource systems. The head of the government was referred to as the Kuningas, literally meaning king in Basic and was kept in balance by a senate comprised of representatives chosen from the provinces of Linninrata and the colonies. The Neuvosmies, or Councilors, who were his or her advisers outside times of war and headed Departments of the government. There was an estimated number of only 1000 Ylijumalat outside the LV who were mainly spies or scouts in both the Known and Unknown Regions or ambassadors to governments in the Unknown Regions. The fortress that served as the capital building and also as a place for a last stand in case of the Linnunrata Valtakunta was invaded and falling was called Aarnivalkea, named after the ancient city originally built by Ukko that Pohjola was built over. Aarnivalkea was considered a paradise city and the greatest achievement of the Ylijumalat ancestors. Military and Technology The Ylijumalat acted with coldness, impartiality, and unrelenting tactics that overwhelmed their opponents that they learned to use after years of fighting the synthetics and their Mnggal-Mnggal master. They were unparalleled masters of guerrilla warfare due to their hunter instincts and low population size, and often considered by those who knew of their existence as the among the best covert operatives and snipers in the Galaxy. They had a particular talent for being able to "blend into the background" and always fought with everything they had with the belief that no enemy should be underestimated. They have claimed to driven back invasions by the ancient Sith Empire, Yuuzhan Vong, and Ssi-ruuk, although these may have been propaganda on their part to deter attacks. Due to their use of technology that was uncommon in the Known Regions though might have given them an edge against invaders expecting to face technology like that in the Known Regions. All standard soldiers underwent a minimum of two years of basic training in not only in fighting techniques but also in first aid, metalworking, engineering, and other fields as well as receiving optional genetic or cybernetic upgrades depending on their role, although these upgrades did not significantly alter the person to the point of the synthetics or people like Grievous or Darth Vader because the Ylijumalat were uneasy about extensively altering a "natural" person beyond fixing genetic and physical flaws and slightly boosting perform. Male citizens were required to enter the military for four years, not including basic training unless the male had a special physical or mental impairment even though this was extremely rare due to modern medicine and genetics. Females were accepted as volunteers although they kept in noncombat roles due to the long birth rate of the species. All males after mandatory service were required to take one month long refresher courses every five years and were subject to being activated in the event of a threat to the Realm until the age of 150. Because of these requirements, the Ylijumalat ensured that in the case of an emergency, nearly 65% of the male adult population at any time was available with military training to handle the situation and repel any potential invasion. The Kuningas was advised in times of war by the Hallitsijat, or Rulers, who acted as the governors of each colony and providence. Due to the highly troubled past of the Ylijumalat and synthetics, droids were frowned upon for being used for tasks easily done by a person, but technology such as controlled drones and V.I. robots were used commonly. A.I. intelligence was strictly reserved for military use only, and the intelligences often were built with limitations. However, the Ylijumalat did offer equal rights to any synthetics with A.I. Stealth technology was widely available to Ylijumalat ships through the effective use of metamaterials, specialized heat and radiation sinks, and other stealth technologies. For more indepth information on Ylijumalat military based technology, please see Tursas Enterprises. Ranged Weaponry and Vehicle Technology ::: "The Ylijumalat can take something as simple as a rock and turn it into something with the kinetic power of a nuclear warhead." Their most famous technology was projectile technology, which was based on highly advanced mass accelerators (like rail/gauss guns), although Ylijumalat mass accelerators were much more advanced than the Known Region's versions of mass accelerator firearms since time was spent refining the projectile firearms due to the Ylijumalat's fondness of guerrilla warfare, its lack of a visibility unlike blaster and high energy particle beam technology, and its effectiveness against lightsaber wielders. Boasting high amounts of ammunition in each clips, higher barrel velocity than slugththrowers, and capable of delivering massive amounts of kinetic damage even to heavily armored troops, they were considered by many to be the best projectile firearms in the galaxy. In addition, they developed specialized rounds in addition to their standard high-explosive and armor piercing incendiary rounds such as rounds enveloped in plasmoid energy as a masterful combination of projectile and energy firepower similar to bowcasters to maximize the deadliness of their firearms and used projectile technology in their vehicles which were known as mass drivers. However, other technology was developed to be used for heavy vehicle weaponry, and some were used in specialized guns. The most common were sonic guns with capabilities beyond those in the Known Galaxy in which the highly advanced guns could fire highly focused beams capable of damaging like lasers or even liquifying flesh. Other variants could fire mini vortexs or powerful low frequency sounds which could collapse buildings. Sonic weapons however were limited to use in areas with climate due to sounds need for air. Perhaps the most frightening of all the weapons available to the Ylijumalat that the rest of the Galaxy had never seen was horrific gamma ray technology, which was actually originally a technology pioneered by the synthetics who the Ylijumalat had fought in the past, and the Ylijumalat later adopted into their own technology. Designed in anything from small arms to capital ship siege cannons, the gamma ray presented itself as possibly the most dangerous ionizing radiation in existence due to their extremely high energy levels as well as being capable of penetrating on even the subatomic level, rendering body armor useless against small arms versions. Combined with technology that condensed the bolts into the size of large bullets and accelerated at higher speed than the average Known Galaxy blaster, gamma ray small arms proved to be one of the most formidable forms of energy weapons in existence on par with disruptors. Gamma ray weaponry on all levels was outlawed for public sale to civilians, and the punishment for buying or selling or even possession without government/military permission was punishable by death. Technology was present for laser and plasma weapons, although they were typically used for point defense weapons, and plasmaswords rather than for personal energy weapons due to the existence of the aforementioned gamma ray weapons. Melee Weapons and Protection Brilliant metallurgists and armorers, the Ylijumalat forged among the best blade weapons and armor in the Galaxy from the Linnunrata native metal known as taivaallinen teräs aka "heavenly steel" to almost legendary durability, balance, and sharpness that were said to be on par with Mandalorian besk'ads, Sith swords, and Jedi katanas even without the Force to forge the later of the two's blades. Blades and armor forged by Samaanit with the use of Force runes were especially sought after. The Ylijumalat were also known for using ultrachrome for its reflective and lightsaber resistant properties. The Ylijumalat often used ultrachrome as a substitute due to the difficult forging process for taivaallinen teräs. The Ylijumalat are believed to have discovered the metal of ultrachrome on their own without any outside influence. Ultrachrome was generally considered inferior to heavenly steel due to the later being more adaptable, requiring more skill to produce via traditional forging, and being stronger than ultrachrome. The swords of the Ylijumalat were typically in a cruciform shape, and the knives were commonly referred to as puukkos or leukus depending the size and shape that could not only be used as combat knives or machetes, but also be used as tools and for throwing. Puukkos were traditionally carried by almost every Ylijumalat once reaching a certain age. They also appeared to have access or had developed on their own vibroweapon and electroweapon technology, often forging their blade weapons to be capable of housing a vibrocell as well as making the hilt out of shock resistant materials due to taivaallinen teräs' having highly conductive quality due to the adaptable carbon nanotubes in the alloy. Additionally the bladed weapons often made use of a electricity generator located within the hilt that generated waves of electricity down the blade similar to an electrostaff. These weapons of combined vibro and electro properties were commonly referred to as simply electro-vibroweapons, although Ylijumalat locally referred them as salamareuna(t)(literally lightning edge). This made the weapons highly effective against droids, and could shock organics to the point of inducing unconsciousness or death if not armored. Despite the highly advanced technology involved in the weapons, the Ylijumalat went through great pains to make sure the weapons were designed to look like their traditional unpowered ancestors from the blade, guard, and pommel designs to the etchings, engravings, and traditional materials used for the construction of the hilt such as bone, wood, and leather. As a result the weapons often looked like normal unpowered blades to the naked eye aside from activation studs or buttons located near the guard. Lastly, they had achieved technology equal to lightsaber type technology, as many Samaanit and high ranking soldiers and commandos had weapons similar, but it appeared that these weapons used plasma as the primary source for the blade and were closer to lightfoils in that they were easily built and used by those not very powerful in the Force. However, because the weapons did not require crystals, they did not suffer the inferior structure of lightfoils. The primary color of plasma swords were white with either a bluish or orange-red glow, but the color could be altered by having an additional gas combined with the primary gas that fueled the plasma. To prevent enormous heat and contain the blade, a powerful magnetic field emitter similar to a lightsaber was used. Plasma swords were only a little less potent than lightsabers, but were still very deadly in combat and couldn't be easily destroyed by lightsabers, especially due to their burning properties. Samaanit and higher ranking members of the military were known to carry plasma-swords if they did not use taivaallinen teräs electro-vibroswords. Economy The Ylijumalat prided themselves on a highly prosperous economy rivaling among the wealthiest governments and planets in the Galaxy that was almost completely independent of outside markets aside from occasional exchanges with other species, although the government strictly limited these exchanges. Even though there were classes in Ylijumalat society, the high availability of advanced technology and resources enabled even the lowest class members of society appear to financially comfortable and wealthy compared to many outlanders. The militaristic and disciplined and moralistic lifestyle of the species helped strongly counteract laziness or softness that might result in an ordinary society. Rather than offer welfare to those who found themselves without a job or homeless, the government offered the option of serving in either noncombat or combat positions within the military or work as a laborer, which was still a productive yet comfortable life comparable to living on a military base such as food and clothing allowances and on-base housing in addition to regular pay. Those who were homeless and refused these options were left to their fate and shown no mercy if resorting to crime. Despite the government being a police state, the economy was primarily free enterprising although a good portion of the companies that are military based were government funded or controlled. The economy was not completely capitalist though as it had several socialistic and communistic checks and balances to prevent an abuse of wealth or widening of classes differences. Education Promoting the education of everything from art to science to literature, the Ylijumalat consider their education systems among the best in the Galaxy, and their focus on discipline and duty further amplifies the average Yiljumala's drive to learn and succeed in whatever path in life they choose. Most Ylijumalat after completing their basic schooling, which lasted 14 years, go on to either first serve their time in the military or go to advanced schooling for whatever field they wish. Architecture Functionalism combined with the beauty of nature had always been the popular style in Ylijumalat architecture with sleek and striking buildings that were filled with beautiful and dense cherry blossom gardens and small rainforests and ornamentation. For the select few outsiders who have seen the planet, all have agreed that the Ylijumalat have managed to find the perfect balance between nature and technology. Category:Races and Species